Manhattan

My Saturday morning felt like a scene from a Woody Allen movie and I loved it. First, a trip to the Guggenheim to see the Kandinsky show. His emotive and saturated colors stand impressively out against the Guggenheim's curving white walls. Also, not to be missed is the Paired, Gold: Felix Gonzalez-Torres and Roni Horn show on the top floor. A stop at Yura on Madison, my favorite place to snack on the Upper East Side, followed for a mini-sandwich and a small cup of soup.

Rooftop Farm Market Report

I know it's a little late, but I have to report on Rooftop Farm's Thanksgiving Market. It was a glorious day. Volunteers were bundling greens and herbs and radishes. Annie Novak was selling the ends of the harvest. And everything was gorgeous, from the pickled peppers to the freshly picked carrots.

Lunch at Motorino

Started with cauliflower soup


And ended with one half margherita and one half brussel sprout/panchetta


You can find Motorino here!

Megan Witmarsh makes Recursive Objects

A great surprise in Miami this year was a show at The Wolfsonian called, New Voices. New Works, "a series of site-specific pieces inspired by the museum's collection and curated by designer Todd Oldham."

Part of the exhibition, the best part, was artist Megan Witmarsh's hand-crafted contribution, Recursive Objects. As the press release describes, it is "a series of sculptures made in response to The Wolfsonian’s collection. The backgrounds of the items in The Wolfsonian’s vast collection are varied ranging from high design to humble utilitarian items. Whitmarsh has made facsimiles of some of these objects (to replace the originals typically on view), and has also added her own inventions, all of which are covertly interspersed throughout the museum ..."

LA SANDWICHERIE

I go to Miami once a year for art and sandwiches. The best sandwiches ever come from La Sandwicherie, an unassuming sandwich shop, consisting only of this counter, in Miami Beach. The options are limited, and for good reason, the sandwiches are perfect. I always get turkey and camembert with everything on a croissant with extra dressing. "Everything" is onions, lettuce, tomato, black olives, hot and sweet peppers, and cornichons. Of course it helps that the counter is just blocks from the beach.

Home alone for lunch with some butternut squash and pretty new napkins

This...


Turns into this...


Then you add these...


And these...


Et voila!

Butternut squash soup with shallots and rosemary based on Mark Bittman's genius 101 Headstarts on the Day (the "Day" was Thanksgiving). Napkins (I've been coveting for a while) from Le Grenier. Parmesan crispies made by grating parm directly onto parchment paper, into the oven on 350-400 until melted and brown around the edges.

Lunching

On a recent trip through Connecticut, we stopped for a late dinner at Louis Lunch in New Haven. Established in 1895, it is one of the oldest restaurants in the United States, just a tiny unassuming shack in the middle of a college town. They also claim to have invented the hamburger sandwich! The guys behind the counter were amazing, the potato salad (a special for the day) was some of the best I've ever had, and the burgers are cooked in a very cool, very old vertical broiler. There are no condiments, only onions, tomatoes, cheese spread, and ham to top your burger which is served on toasted white bread. Well worth the trip, but definitely call ahead as they can close for holidays, vacations, construction, etc. (We've tried to go before...) And if you are ever looking for food along the road in any part of the country, go to roadfood.com. I love them.